Modernity Disavowed: Haiti and the Cultures of Slavery in the Age of Revolution

Sibylle Fischer’s book, Modernity Disavowed, is for the long distances. At eleven years after its publication in 2004, it is still a force in the field, shaping discussions, and inspiring articles, books and dissertations. It is not a historical monograph per se. Instead, it is an intellectual work that draws from literature, history, philosophy and psychoanalysis (some reviewers have pointed out that it relies on history more than on other disciplines). It also uses a transnational approach to tackling hard questions about the post-revolutionary period in three major Caribbean nations: Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Emancipation and nation-building are the book’s major concerns. A scholarly exchange (in Spanish) over the book, which was published in the Caribbean Studies, 33:2 (Jul. – Dec., 2005), had Clevis Headley and Neil Roberts raising questions about the issues of “Modernity” and “Disavowed,” and then Fischer was invited to respond.